Raleigh Union Station

Project Map

Project Video

Project Fast Facts

County: Wake

Type of Project: Passenger Train Station

STIP Number: P-5500

Estimated Cost: $73 M

Property Acquisition Start: 2014

Description

The City of Raleigh and NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) are proposing to construct a new passenger train station in downtown Raleigh at 510 West Martin Street. The station would replace the existing Amtrak Station on Cabarrus Street, which routinely experiences overcrowding and lacks the adequate platform size to serve the longer trains that access the station.

This project is among improvements to the railroad corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte to increase railroad capacity, efficiency, and safety.

News and Updates

The Environmental Assessment and Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation was approved on March 12, 2014. The document is available for download and viewing at the link below. The opportunity for public comments on the Environmental Assessment ended on April 30, 2014.

Public Hearing Maps are available for viewing. Electronic copies of the Hearing Map can be downloaded by clicking the “Public Hearing Maps” link to the above right.

The final public information session was held on September 9, 2014.There is no slideshow for that session.

Schedule

The station and track design began in January 2013 and is scheduled to be completed in late 2014.

Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2015, and be completed in early 2017.

Project Overview and Purpose

Currently four daily round trip passenger trains serve the Raleigh Amtrak Station: New York to Charlotte Carolinian, Raleigh to Charlotte Piedmont (2), and the New York to Miami Silver Star. Two additional Raleigh to Charlotte Piedmont round trips are planned in the near future to meet increasing service demands.

The Raleigh Amtrak Station served 160,000 passengers in 2013, making it one of the busiest Amtrak stations in the Southeastern U.S.

The location and size of the current train station cannot accommodate expected ridership growth, nor accommodate a desired downtown multimodal transportation center. NCDOT and the City of Raleigh aligned plans, visions, and funding to develop this improved facility. It will accommodate current and future demand for intercity passenger rail, commuter rail, city bus, regional bus, taxis, bicycles, and other modes of transportation.

The two waiting rooms in the existing Raleigh Amtrak Station provide only 1,800 square feet of passenger waiting space, often requiring passengers to wait outside. Also, the current station has only 54 parking spaces, which does not support the passenger demand. The limited parking results in vehicles double parking, as well as parking on adjacent private property, and along streets in the adjoining neighborhood.

Project Highlights

The project calls for reusing an industrial building which has been vacant since 2005. The 26,000 square foot building will provide 9,200 square feet of passenger waiting and civic space.

Access to the boarding platforms will be via at grade concourse which is below grade only where it passes under one track to access the center island platform.

The 920-foot long passenger platform will include a 600 foot long canopy providing patrons protection from the elements. The center-island platform will allow passengers to board from either side, thereby providing more flexibility for train operations. The platform will be level with the trains, so passengers will not have to use steps or wheelchair lifts.

Currently, when passenger trains are at the existing station, the mainline railroad track is blocked. This forces freight and other passenger trains to wait until the passenger loading or unloading is complete before proceeding through the station area. The new facility will have two dedicated tracks that remove passenger trains from the mainline tracks, thus improving operations for freight and passenger train operations.

The project will displace the existing Cabarrus Yard freight storage tracks inside Boylan Wye, so these tracks will be replaced by equivalent tracks nearby.

Cost

The project is estimated to cost approximately $73 million, based on 65% design plans.

Resources for Local Property Owners

In many cases, it is inevitable that a certain amount of private property must be acquired. The displacement of homes and businesses is minimized to the extent practicable. The following brochures will answer questions about this process.